Sky Live: St Helens travel to Stade Gilbert Brutus on Saturday looking to remain unbeaten against a confident Catalans Dragons
Watch Catalans vs St Helens, Saturday from 5pm on Sky Sports Arena
Last Updated: 22/05/21 6:27pm
St Helens travel to France to take on the in-form Catalans in Saturday's Super League clash, live on Sky Sports Arena.
Quick turnaround
Both Catalans and St Helens played on Monday with the Dragons beating Hull FC while Saints extended their unbeaten run in 2021 with a 28-0 win over Salford.
The Dragons have played six of their opening eight games over in England and coach Steve McNamara is looking forward to back-to-back home matches kicking of with Saints on Saturday.
"It's good to be back at home," said McNamara.
"We got beat last time we played at home - we didn't perform quite as well as we wanted to - so we want to put that right this time around.
"It's the current champions this week and we've got Wigan the week after, we're all aware of the schedule, but the focus is on this week and playing well again."
Unlocking Saints defence
Catalans know they have to be at their very best against St Helens who pride themselves on their defence. They have not conceded more than two tries this campaign and have two clean sheets after beating Hull KR 25-0 and Salford 28-0.
However, the Dragons have some impressive gamebreakers with the likes of Sam Tomkins, James Maloney and Tom Davies in fine form.
Step up for Saints
The Dragons are fresh from that very impressive 27-10 win over Hull and Saints coach Kristian Woolf is expecting his side's unbeaten record to be put to the test.
"They've been playing really well," he said. "It's our biggest challenge this year.
"When you're playing a team full of quality and confidence at the same time, it's a really difficult one but we're really looking forward to it.
"It's a good challenge for us. Forget about the trip because other teams have made the same trip and gone over there and won and Catalans have to make that trip each week."
Saints will travel to Stade Gilbert Brutus on the day and leave straight after the final whistle but will have to undergo a period of quarantine once they return home.
Morgan Knowles, who made his comeback from a thumb injury against Salford on Monday, says the squad are ready for a quick turnaround.
"We have spoken as a group and their is a bit of a smash-and grab mentality - get in, get out and get the job done!" Knowles told Saints TV.
"This will probably be the biggest game we have had so far - they [Catalans] have been going very well this year so we are expecting a tough fight."
Team news
Catalans have prop Gil Dudson back from suspension, replacing fellow front rower Jason Baitieri who was injured in the win at Hull.
St Helens will be unchanged from the team that completed the double over Salford, with Jack Welsby continuing in the threequarters in the absence of injured England international Tom Makinson.
St Helens 21-man squad: 1 Lachlan Coote, 3 Kevin Naiqama, 4, Mark Percival, 5 Regan Grace, 6 Jonny Lomax, 7 Theo Fages, 8 Alex Walmsley, 9 James Roby, 11 Joel Thompson, 13, Morgan Knowles, 14 Sione Mata'utia, 15 LMS, 16 Kyle Amor, 17, Agnatius Paasi, 18 Jack Welsby, 19, Aaron Smith, 20, Joe Batchelor, 21 Lewis Dodd, 22 Josh Simm, 25 Dan Norman, 29 Ben Davies